They deserve happiness
by Rose-Aki
Summary: Ino finds out that Temari and Shikamaru are more than friends and she can't help but think that they both deserve happiness after everything that happened during the war. Shikamaru/Temari


A/N: It has definitely been a while since I wrote a story for Naruto and it's a little short, but I hope you still like it :)

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Shikamaru and Temari never officially told anyone about their relationship status, but Ino already suspected for a while now that they were more than friends. After the war they began to spend even more time with each other when Temari was in Konoha and Ino often saw them eating together at Ichiraku. However it wasn't until one day when Temari visited Konoha that Ino found out that she was right all along. She was waiting for the Suna kunoichi by the gates of the village and when Temari saw her instead of Shikamaru she looked confused and a little bit disappointed.

"Not that I have anything against you, but where is the lazy-ass?" Even thought she knew her way around Konoha just as well as any villager, Shikamaru always came to pick her up at the gates when she came to Konoha.

"He came back from a mission this morning and Sakura is now treating him." After she had said that Ino saw concern in Temari's eyes and knew immediately how worried the other kunoichi must be about Shikamaru. "If you want you can come with me, I was just about to look how he is doing."

"Let's go. I have to tell him off for being so careless and getting injured during a mission. He was probably distract watching clouds and didn't pay attention." Despite her angry tone it was obvious to Ino that Temari was hiding her worry behind her harsh words.

When they arrived Shizune told them that Sakura was still treating Shikamaru, so the two sat down in front of the treatment room. Despite that Temari tried her best to look composed, Ino could see right through her, she was a kunoichi after all and trained to look for every detail. They were small signs, like Temari's eyes drifting to the clock every minute or the way she clenched and unclenched her hands, but it was more than obvious to Ino how nervous and worried she really was. However Ino knew better than to ask the Suna kunoichi about it, she would surely never admit such a vulnerable emotion openly. When Sakura finally came out of the treatment room and told them that Shikamaru would be alright and they could see him now, both girls were relieved.

The moment they entered the room Temari walked over to Shikamaru's bed and sat down next to him without hesitation. Ino sat on the chair next to the bed and both waited for Shikamaru to wake up. Sakura had told them that this should be the case any minute now. When his eyes slowly opened they immediately landed on Temari and he smiled lazily.

"What are you doing here troublesome woman?"

"I'm the troublesome one here? You are the one that got injured and ended up here."

Ino shook her head at these two. One minute ago Temari had been concerned and now she was already bickering with Shikamaru again. The same went for her best friend, after having just woken up and probably feeling awful he was already up to his usual words fight with the kunoichi. Deciding that she would visit her friend another time, Ino stood up and was about to close the door when she saw something that surely wasn't meant for anyone to know just yet.

"How did you even get injured in the first place? You were watching clouds weren't y-"

That was the moment Shikamaru pulled Temari's head, which was very close to his own anyway, down and their lips met softly, successfully ending whatever she was about to say. Temari immediately returned the kiss and Ino got the feeling that this wasn't the first time they kissed. When they pulled away from each other Shikamaru smiled gently at her.

"You don't have to worry. I have the best motivation to come back in one piece." He stroked her cheek lovingly and she leaned into his touch.

Ino was expecting that Temari would deny that she was worried, like she probably would have done if she had asked her that while they had been waiting, but instead the Suna kunoichi smiled a soft smile that Ino had never seen before on her.

"You being motivated, that's rare. I'm just glad you're alright. Never do that again to me. When I saw Ino waiting for me at the gates instead of you I knew something was wrong, because you're always with me when I'm in Konoha."

Now that Ino thought about Temari's words she realized that it was true, Shikamaru never took any missions when the blonde kunoichi was about to come to Konoha or if she was already here. Ino was pulled out of her thoughts and her attention was back on the couple when Shikamaru spoke up.

"Stay with me?" He gestured to the space next to him on the bed and lifted his arm.

Temari looked around, probably searching for Ino, but when she saw that the other kunoichi was gone, she nodded and lay down in Shikamaru's arms.

"But only for a little bit lazy-ass."

Shikamaru just smiled at her and Ino saw Temari mirror his expression before they both closed their eyes, just enjoying each others company. Quietly Ino closed the door all the way and now let them have their privacy, she had already seen too much of something that was surely a secret. It wasn't surprising that Shikamaru had fallen for Temari, seeing that his parents had been the same way. Ino mused silently that Shikaku would have been proud of Shikamaru's choice in woman and Yoshino would be more than happy when she would find out. However Ino wouldn't tell anyone, that wasn't her secret to tell. As for her, she liked Temari for Shikamaru, she would keep him in line and Ino could see that Temari really loved her friend. The way these two just acted a few minutes ago showed that.

On her way outside she met Choji, who obviously wanted to visit his best friend after having heard about Shikamaru's mission gone wrong, but Ino stopped him.

"Shikamaru is in good hands, let's go eat some barbecue for old times' sake."

Choji was more than happy to agree and Ino was sure some day soon they would be four people going to the restaurant together and she couldn't help but be happy for her best friend and Temari. After everything that happened during the war they deserved happiness.

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A/N: Please review and tell me what you think :)


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